“I’m so pumped to do this!” Jack said, ripping through one hundred pushups. “I’ll go for two!” he stated, continuing the pushups well beyond a hundred.
Rina was using her badge to capture a picture of Ayame, using the flowery field of daisies behind them as a backdrop. They were on a large farm with many farm animals lounging about.
“I love it!” Ayame said, having scrolled through enough shots before finding one she found the best.
“I’m commenting right now,” Rina said.
Neptus was stretching, getting ready for whatever awaited them. Gazing at Rai, he took a deep breath, saying, “Be still,” while closing his eyes. Recalling Rai’s newfound ability, he knew he couldn’t allow himself to continue to fall behind. You’ve got this. Today’s your day.
“Can't wait to get home,” Rai said.
Alan looked around, “Really? Supposedly today’s going to be worth a lot of hall points.”
“Hey guys, I’m still new to the Empire,” Neptus said, appearing before them. “What’re hall points for exactly?”
“Hm, how should I put it? The elite I report to is the number one elite. He’s one of the five hall masters and is in charge of the Kingdom of Excalibur. The Kingdom also houses the number ten elite, which is currently Tanabe. Any apprentices under them, like myself, whatever we may accomplish, will all be tallied up in hall points throughout the years until the Lumi Festival when the winner is announced. The Kingdom of Thundertyde’s Hall master is Eloise. Yukio the number seven elite, and Mu, the number eleventh elite, are stationed within this Kingdom, thus making them a part of that hall.”
“Stationed, like they can't leave?”
“Yeah, their rankings, seven and eleven are placed in that kingdom, so if you move into that rank you would have to move there. It's to maximize the defense around the empire, the head of the snake, or, the crown jewel in other terms, which resides at the center of the five kingdoms surrounding it. The rest go as follows. The Kingdom of Celestria, hall master, Alderai, with elite ranks, twelve (Tofi) and thirteen (Reezo) also being a part of that hall. The Kingdom of Aurahelm Hall master is Marco, with the sixth-ranked elite, Han, being the only elite in this hall. Lastly, the Kingdom of Keltzer, whose hall master is Gael, the number two elite; also contains elites ranked ninth (Aegis) and eighth (Knox).”
“Ooh, so that’s how it works,” Ayame said, listening in.
“Seems kind of imbalanced if you ask me...” Rai said.
“Well, they distribute the points evenly. Those with fewer apprentices get more points as a reward to balance out the competition,” Alan stated.
Further away from the gathered apprentices, Lily approached Hanabi. “Hey Hanabi!” Lily hollered, appearing around the corner with Tamarri.
“Hey,” Hanabi replied. “How’s the day off been?”
“I slept most of it,” Lily said, stretching. “This apprenticeship’s got me beat,” she stated, slumping over the railing next to Hanabi.
“I spent most of the day helping my father at the restaurant, but after this Tofi and I are going to the water park,” Tamarri said.
“That’s right!” Tofi said, suddenly sitting on the railings behind Hanabi, slightly startling her. “Cyclone Cove! The world's most famousouses park ever!”
Hanabi, giggling said, “You’re Tofi,” shaking her hand. “Please to meet you.”
“You're pretty!” Tofi said with a bright smile.
"Thank you," Hanabi said, flattered. Sudden scrummaging around the corner prompted Hanabi to ask, “Do you guys hear that?”
“Don’t worry, that’s just gumball, he’s on time out, again,” Tofi said. Hanabi gazed around the corner to find Fu, completely wrapped in his threads, fixed to a metal pole; he couldn’t move, nor could he speak.
“Serves you right,” Lily said. “So, what’re you doing here?” Lily asked. They had just gotten to a viewing area outside the Kingdom of Excalibur.
“I’m here just in case anyone’s core needs repair,” Hanabi said, shifting attention to the field in which the apprentices have gathered.
“Yeah, we didn’t have to take the class,” Lily said. “But I still wanted to see how blinking works myself.”
Tamarri nodded in agreement.
“Blink?” Tofi said.
“Look Tofi, the class is starting. Why don’t we watch and see,” Tamarri said.
“Okay!” she said.
Appearing almost out of thin air, a teacher by the name of Sheena stood before all the apprentices. The Blink class hadn’t been run for quite some time, since the teacher was on a mission and away for over a year.
“Welcome to the Blink Class. Today you’ll be learning how to phase through flux force,” Sheena said, standing before the apprentices.
“Here we go again,” Alan said, sighing.
“Such a stupid class…” Rai muttered - hands in coat pockets.
“It looks like we have our first volunteer,” Sheena said. “Rai, please step up.”
Rai, stubbornly, walked up, now facing the apprentices.
Scanning the group of apprentices, Sheena said, “Most of you have never met me. My name is Sheena. I was an elite, ranked tenth at the time. I master in blinking, and today you’ll be honing those skills.” Phasing through flux, she disappeared, before reappearing behind the girls, Ayame and Rina, causing them to jump. “By blinking, you’ll be able to traverse the battlefield more effectively,” she blinked, now reappearing behind Alan, placing a blade to his throat, causing him to tense up, “and, strike fear in the heart of your enemy.” Sheena reappeared next to Rai. “Can anyone tell me the dangers of blinking?”
“From what I know, blinking, although useful in combat, exposes the core to direct hits.”
“That is correct. Protecting your core should always remain your main concern when continue to grow as an Abminus. If not properly attended to, your growth will be severely hampered. In other words,” Sheena said, staring at Rai who seemed to not be paying much attention, “you won’t ever make it into the elites. Daichi, could you create a wall separating myself and Rai.”
“On it,” Daichi said, and small roots emerged around his feet. Soon, a wall two feet wide steadily rose until both she and Rai were unable to see one another.
“Rai, I want you to try and phase over to me,” Sheena said.
“Sure…” Rai muttered.
Lily watching Rai, asked, “Why does Rai hate the blink class so much? Wouldn’t he want to know how to use it?”
“It’s not that he doesn’t want to know how, he’s just terrible at it…” Hanabi replied.
Rai, facing the wall in what looked like a running stance, whispered to himself, “Stupid Blinking…” Closing his eyes, he focused on the course of flux flowing around him. The flux force, when blinking, worked like thousands of highways twisting around one another in a chaotic pattern that made it nearly impossible to know which path to take. Focus Rai, you’re right next to her. Rai, blinking, disappeared before reappearing, smacking his face heavily against the wall separating him from Sheena.
“First lesson, when blinking, you’re unable to move through solid matter. You can only traverse where nothing is obstructing you,” Sheena said.
“You couldn’t have told me that sooner!” Rai shouted.
Sheena blinked, now sitting on top of the wall Diachi created. “When phasing through flux force, Abminus can only blink in short bursts, before we are forced out of the flow of flux. In addition, we can only blink in a straight line. So, each—time—you—blink—,” she stated while reappearing and disappearing, around the wall, “should you want to move around a structure such as this wall, you have to take a different approach. Either wrapping around or over it.” Rai, rubbing his nose, returned to the apprentices gazing at an open field Sheena directed them towards. “Today, you’ll be participating in a race.”
“A race, out in the open?” Neptus said, causing Sheena to smile.
“Running…” Daichi said, already winded at the thought of it.
“Jerky,” Jack said, handing out a handful of beef jerky.
A fire roared in Daichi’s eyes as he grabbed the jerky, rapidly shoveling it down. “I’m ready!” he shouted
“That’s the spirit!” Jack said.
Snapping her fingers, the ground started to shake, before it split open, revealing long mechanical doors beneath the farm. “You may only use your root power in one of two circumstances. The first is, that you plan to target multiple opponents in some manner, but never just one individually. This will test your creativity, often a skill lacking on the battlefield. The second reason is simple; to defend yourself. Lastly, realms,” Sheena said, staring at Seppe, “are forbidden.”
“Awh…” Seppe hunched over. “I had a new art piece I was hoping to test.”
“So, group-based attacks…” Rai said. My ikken might be the only thing that qualifies at the moment...
Bit by bit, an enormous elaborate track appeared before them.
“It's not hard to see why so many apprentices dropped out…” Lily said, glaring at the track in which they had to race across. There were pits of fire, spike traps, giant pendulum axes, and many other dangerous things.
“That looks like so much fun!” Tofi said, baffling the three beside her.
“Remember, when shifting through flux force, you’re still able to get hit, which will not only knock you out of the flow of flux but, damage your core many times more than if you weren’t,” Sheena said. “I expect to see you phase at least once in this race.”
Each apprentice lined up on a large number engraved at the beginning of the track.
“Apprentices, you will receive hall points according to what you place in this race. If you would like your hall to be victorious, come to the Lumi Festival, I suggest you give it your all.” Sheena, gazing at the track said, “On your mark, get set, go!”
Rai, quickly darting off, suddenly slowed, and a wave of drowsiness overcame him. Why am so tired… all… of a sudden… Waking up, Rai looked around to see all the other apprentices were doing the same.
Alan, scratching his stomach, was still sleeping, saying, “Eloise… Marry… Me…” drool dripping from the corner of his lip.
“Hey, what’s going on…” Neptus said.
“Rina… Why’d you have to get me tied up in that…” Ayame said, rising from the floor.
“Sorry!” Rina called out from the finish line. She placed first.
“Hey look, they're finally awake,” Lily said, standing up.
Tamarri had whipped up a nice picnic basket for everyone, which they were currently enjoying.
Rai, staring at the sun, asked, “How much time passed?”
“One hour. Rina’s placed first,” Sheena said.
“One hour?!” Rai exclaimed.
“Drowsy Root,” Alan said, in his sleep. “Derived from Hypnosis Lavendula. Causes people to fall asleep when consumed…”
Rina, having placed first, playfully held out the bunny's ear, winking and sticking her tongue out at everyone. “I had to make up for the early exit at the placement exam.”
“Second’s mine!” Neptus said, rushing past Rai.
“As if!” Ayame said, rushing past.
“Faster!” Jack said, also passing Rai.
“H-Hey! Not on my watch!” Rai said, quickly running after him, followed by Daichi.
Alan, slowly waking, looked over at Seppe, who happened to wake up at the same time. Catching each other’s eyes, Alan said, “What’re you doing in my room?”
“Room?” Seppe said, looking around confused.
“You’re both currently tied for last,” Sheena said.
“What?!” they shouted.
Glaring at the race track. Seppe quickly activated his root power, and roots emerged by his feet. He fused flux into his super-sized paintbrush, swiftly detailing what looked to be a giant canon. He then brought it to life, pulling it from the floor, along with the painting of a giant fishing net. Seppe, sitting atop the canon, holding the net over the exit, looked over at Alan, saying, “Bon Voyage.” The canon launched the ball, catching the net, and taking Seppe with it.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Running Rai called, “Plu, let’s go!” But upon no answer, he came to realize Plu was sitting at the picnic with everyone who was watching. “Plu what the hell!”
“You got this Rai!” Lily shouted.
“Plu!” it called out in support of Rai.
“Coming through,” Seppe hollered.
“Huh?” Rai, glancing behind him, almost had a heart attack when he saw a giant cannonball merely a couple of feet away from him. Ducking, the ball, grazed the tips of his hair, narrowly missing Rai. “What happened to no targeting!”
“It wasn’t targeting just you,” Sheena said.
Jack, seeing the looming ball from the corner of his eye, turned around, activating his roots, causing red glowing roots to emerge from the ground. He immediately became encased in a crimson jewel as the canon ball smashed into him. Digging his feet into the ground, the cannonball dragged him across the racetrack towards a dangerous spike trap coming up.
The spike trap was decently long, and the only way to traverse it was by swinging from striped candy cane poles sticking out the sides of walls.
Neptus, seeing the spike trap, focused on the many paths through the flow of flux, then blinked. Reappearing at a pole halfway through the pitfall, he used it to swing and toss himself higher, where he caught another poll. From that one, he blinked again, reappearing at the other end of the spike trap before continuing to run towards the finish line.
“Damn,” Rai said, seeing Neptus phase through flux, no problem at all.
“A natural,” Sheena said.
“Look at Neptus go,” Hanabi said.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Lily said.
“Woo! Go Neptus!” Tofi said.
“Hey, someone hands me the ketchup,” Fu, the puppet said. He was untied after ‘behaving’ himself.
“Hmmm,” Tofi muttered, glaring at Fu.
“M-May someone hands me the ketchup,” Fu said, slightly shaking.
“That’s better,” Tofi said.
“Not sure why you need it, but sure…” Lily said, sliding over the ketchup.
Daichi, drenched in sweat, said, “Wait… Up…”
“Go Daichi, you ran to the placement exam! This should be a sinch!” Lily shouted.
“You’re rooting against Rai?” Tamarri questioned.
“I’m rooting for all of them,” she replied, catching Tamarri by surprise, who smiled as a result.
Daichi, gazing over at them, reached into his back pocket for a bag of potato chips he was holding onto. They don’t understand, Jack carried me most of the way… I wasn’t going to be able to make that run, no way. Man… It looks like I’ve crushed them… Seeing the other apprentices pull ahead, Daichi sighed, before recalling Jack in his head. ‘Always give it your all!’ He looked at Jack battling against the force of the canon Seppe launched. Earlier he had barely dodged it by creating a pillar of earth to lift him over it. Placing the crumbled chip bag back into his back pocket, a look of determination spread across Daichi’s face. Running forward, he shouted, “I got this!” Blinking right after. One of the traps along the tracks happened to be set off at the exact time, and from it a giant frying pan flopped out, slapping Diachi right out of the flow of flux. “Ah!” Daichi writing in pain, gripped his chest where his core was located. It was as if he was having a heart attack. “It hurts!” he cried.
“Get over it,” Sheena said, shaking her head no at Hanabi who was about to head over. “That was nothing. You need to strengthen your core more if you that’s enough to break you.”
Daichi, heaving heavily, eyes red with tears in them, slowly recalled the battle Jack was having. Looking up at Sheena, he steadily rose, though his legs were shaking.
Sheena smiled at his defiant gaze before he continued the race.
Seppe, glaring down at Jack said, “Give it up! You can’t win!”
“Seppe, if he goes over, doesn’t that mean you do too?” Alan shouted from last place.
Seppe, looking up, noticed the gaping spike trap nearing. “You can do it!” he shouted at Jack.
Jack, face growing red and veins appearing across his forehead, roared to the skies as he used all his will to stop the canon ball before he tipped into the spike trap. The battle of attrition brought him back to a time in the gym, where he used to work as the janitor. As a janitor at the local gym, he was often the target of ridicule from the other guys and the disdainful looks of the girls who frequented the place; often hearing whispers about his skinny frame and acne-covered face. The gym where he worked was owned by a wealthy businessman who also happened to be Jack’s father’s employer; his father was the maintenance guy at the gym. His dad worked hard to support his family, placing a lot of pride in his work.
“Hey,” a girl came beside Jack. “Do you think I could get your number?”
“W-Who me? You want m-my number?” His stutter was always something that immediately turned women off.
“Of course,” she said. “I see you every day, I just couldn’t help myself anymore.” She got in close, “Just seeing you, wipe those windows… really… get’s me!” she busted into laughter.
Behind Jack, two very fit men and another woman were laughing as well.
“Too good!” one of the men came over, slapping his hand on the back of Jack. “Had you going there for a bit, didn’t she,” the guy said. “Oh, look, we got a friend,” he said, pointing at Jack’s zipper.
The girl in the back started to laugh louder hearing this, while the woman right in front of him covered her mouth, doing her best to hold in a laugh.
Jack immediately slouched over, quickly shuffling his way to the bathroom, tripping on the way.
“He’ll be back once he’s hit his max,” the second guy hollered, causing his friend to bust up in laughter.
Inside the restroom, Jack sat in a corner with his head hung low. After a moment, however, the channel flickered and Keltzer Wrestling came on. Every evening, he would rush home to catch the latest matches on TV, losing himself in the thrilling drama of the WWIE. World Wrestling Illuminus Entertainment. It was his escape from the harsh realities of his life. As Jack was leaving the gym after another grueling day of work, the floor erupted, and roots ravaged the entire landscape around them. After coming too, he heard a commotion inside. Racing to investigate, he found his father pinned beneath a fallen beam, his face contorted in pain. Without hesitation, Jack rushed forward to help, but his weak arms failed him as he struggled to lift the heavy weight off his father. He knew he was trying to say something, some sort of goodbye, yet all his dad could do was groan. The sound of rubble breaking above alerted Jack. Another beam suddenly came crashing down, killing his father… That day, he was powerless to save the one person who had always been there for him, the man who had sacrificed so much to provide for his family. From that day forward, Jack vowed to become stronger. “Maximum effort!” Jack shouted, pulling further from the power of his Crimson Root, the jewel armor doubled in size, making Jack look like he had grown into a small giant; after he slammed the ball into the ground, right before falling into the spike trap.
“Way to go, Jack,” Seppe said, gazing at the large thorns behind him.
“Sorry Seppe, you’re going to have to find another way back!” Jack said, slamming his enlarged crimson knee into the canon ball, sending it flying backward.
“Not fair!” Seppe shouted, running as fast as he could on top of the spinning ball.
“Shoot!” Ria shouted, lunging out of the way.
“At last! Alan shouted, passing Daichi up. “I’m not in last anymore.” Alan, suddenly seeing the giant canon ball, winced, as it smacked him straight on.
A collective, “Ooooh,” echoed throughout the air.
Because of the speed and momentum of the cannonball, Alan was wedged under and over where he knocked Seppe down, taking them both with it.
Daichi, using his Earth Root abilities, stomped the ground, forming a ramp which he ducked under as the ball flung high into the sky, before landing and continuing on its way.
Neptus, looking back, said, “Why is Ayame just standing there?” She was only halfway across the spike trap, standing on top of one of the swinging bars. Her gaze seemed to be pinned directly at Neptus. Her loss… Ahead, there was one large pendulum axe, swaying left to right. Something strange seemed to be happening with the colors reflecting off it. Between each swing, he noticed his reflection, and, Ayame’s as well. She was smiling, as if she had already finished the race.
Ayame emerged from the reflection of the giant swinging axe, stealthily rolling forward before looking up at Neptus. Roots emerged beneath her, slowly wrapping the swinging axe behind her, stopping its motion. “Copy,” she said, and from the ground roots sprang forth every five feet of the track, quickly forming into copies of the large pendulum axe.
Neptus leaned back as one of the twenty axes almost cut him in half. “Little overkill no!”
“Only if it kills,” Ayame said, winking and racing ahead.
Neptus took a deep breath before moving on. He blinked again and again, masterfully weaving through the axes as he phased right past the many blades, quickly closing the gap between him and Ayame.
“Darn, I forgot we have to blink at least once…” Ayame said. “Here goes nothing,” she said, blinking, and instead she went backward, crashing on her butt. “Ow…”
“See ya!” Neptus said, running by her.
“Hey!” Ayame said, getting up and racing after him.
Back at the starting line, Alan and Seppe were both recovering.
“I think… I’ll take last…” Alan said, huffing.
“Then I’ll take, second to last…” Seppe said. Behind them, the giant canon ball slowly melted into a big puddle of paint.
“Couldn’t Seppe have turned it into paint prior?” Tamarri said.
“Elites aren’t given the luxury of time to make decisions, they are done in the spur of the moment,” Sheena said. “This training will also test their ability to adapt on the fly,” Sheena said.
“It's my turn!” Rai said, swinging on a pole, he launched himself into the air and then blinked. Reappearing, he was further back in the track, and at the same time, when reappearing, Rai’s rammed into Daichi who was casually staring into the spike pit, causing them both to fall in; though Rai was able to grab ahold of the edge.
“Don’t let go!” Daichi shouted, gripping Rai’s leg for dear life as the end of a spike pricked his buttocks.
“Get off!” Rai cried, as his grip was slipping.
“Get off?! Pull us up!” Daichi cried.
“I’m trying!”
Moments later, they were both safe, but breathing heavily.
“Dammit. Screwed that up,” Rai said. Peering over the edge of the track, Plu leaned over, before stumbling in. It trotted up to Rai, having fallen right nearby. “Little late don’t you think?” Rai said, seeing Plu arrive at his side.
“Is that allowed?” Lily asked.
Hanabi and the rest shrugged.
“So, are you going to Apple or?” Rai said, staring at Plu who was simply staring at him. Rai noticed Neptus, Ayame, and even Jack, the fastest of them all, each nearing the halfway point. “Forget it!” he shouted, snatching Plu up and darting off. “Hang on tight Plu!” Rai jumped from pole to pole, instead of swinging from them, eventually landing on the other side where the many swinging axes awaited. These axes weren’t positioned exactly like the first one, swaying left to right, rather, they swung from multiple angles. How in the world did they get by this so fast? Rai noticed many axes had been partly fractured and some even shattered. Seems Jack muscled his way through. Rai, looking down noticed Plu walking the other way. “Oh no you don’t, you’re in this for the long haul!” he said, snatching Plu who hastily tried to run off. Rai rushed through the many axes, narrowly missing each one.
After a second, Sheena smirked. He moves with such accuracy… Sheena was impressed, she hadn’t expected him to be so agile. It reminded her of Yukio, the seventh-ranked elite. A rootless Abminus who took over the seventh rank. It’s unheard of.
“Rai’s training must be paying off!” Lily said, proudly.
“Wait a sec…” Hanabi took a closer look. “Are his eyes closed?”
Sheena and the rest looked a bit closer as well, “His eyes are closed!” they all shouted.
“Come on! Rai shouted, before tripping on his foot, and stumbling across the ground, nearly getting hit by two axes. He now continued to dodge in an unorthodox fashion. “Duck, shuffle, duck – jump!”
“What happened? He was doing just fine before,” Tofi said.
“RI RI you big idiot! What do you think you’re doing closing your eyes? Are you trying to get yourself killed!” Hanabi shouted.
“That last one scared the living shit outta me, I couldn’t help it!” Rai shouted back.
“So, it was a fluke after all…” Lily said.
“Behind you!”
Turning around, Rai witnessed an axe swinging straight down the center of the track, and there was nothing he could do to avoid it, however, Plu came out at that moment, and upon seeing the axe, it freaked out and turned into an apple. The axe smashed into the apple, however, the apple remained perfectly intact, instead propelling Rai backward at a very fast rate in the direction of the competition.
“Way to go Plu!” Lily said.
“Hey buddy, you want to lend me a hand,” Rai shouted, seeing a roaring flame beneath him. I suppose becoming a barbecue warrants ‘defending’ myself. Moments later, Neptus and the rest heard Rai roar, “Ikken!” In a rather spontaneous fashion, Rai catapulted himself right next to the rest of the competitors.
Meanwhile, Daichi settled for his placement, instead choosing to open the bag of potato chips and enjoy the rest of the race.
“They’re reaching the end of the track!” Lily said.
“Hmm, I can’t take it anymore!” Tofi said. In an instant, she vanished appearing at another number at the beginning of the track.
“Tofi…” Sheena said.
“Go!” she shouted, destroying a portion of the number beneath her feet as she ran off.
Towards the finish line, everyone was neck to neck.
“Come on Ayame, you got this!” Rina was recording the race for Ayame’s followers.
“Not right now!” Ayame shouted, as her hair sloppily fell over her face.
The last area was full of trees and vines that stuck out a large body of water, however, the water formed a vicious whirlpool, threatening to consume whatever fell in.
“Why not toss in some fire while you’re at it,” Rai said despite the trial ahead.
Suddenly, fire burst from small holes along the trees protruding from the vortex of water.
“Way to jinx it!” Neptus yelled.
“Oh boy…” Ayame muttered.
“For glory!” Jack shouted, jumping out of whatever remained of his chipped crimson armor.
They all jumped over their last way of retreat, hovering right over the chaotic waters.
I’m the best here at blinking, this race is as good as mine. Neptus, disappearing, reappeared at a thick branch, but it snapped immediately under his weight. A fake?! In a last-ditch effort, Neptus phased through flux, appearing at an elastic vine. “Gotcha!” he said, clutching the vine, but the hanging vine turned out to be a fake as well. As Neptus fell, turning towards the tree, he noticed a bright orange flame flickering. Flames erupted completely erasing everything in its path.
“Consider this my good deed of the day,” Rai said, swinging in on a vine and saving Neptus before he got roasted. Subtly shoving Neptus off him into the whirlpool, Rai shouted, “Enjoy the ride!”
“You-!” Neptus spun rapidly, thirty maybe forty times before disappearing into the whirlpool, getting shot out the other end where he landed in a large pile of cow poop. They grazed nearby, watching the race unfold.
Ayame, standing upon a branch, looked ahead, but there were flames everywhere, and she had no way to proceed. “On second thought, third or fourth doesn’t seem so bad…” So, she waited there to see the outcome.
Jack, having pushed himself earlier in the attempt to stop the canon ball, was having a difficult time moving forward. Swinging from one vine, he blinked, reappearing slightly off track from the tree he was aiming for. Flying right by it, quickly the jewel armor engulfed his entire arm, all the way down to the tips of his fingers, until his arm looked like a crimson blade itself. Attempting another blink, he was able to get close enough to thrust it into a tree. He was so close to the rapid waters, that he was getting soaked by the splashing from the current beating against the tree. “Woo… That was a close one.” Observing his surroundings, he turned around to see Rai making little to no progress. “I’ve got this!”
“You can do it, Jack!” Daichi said with a full mouth of chips.
Rai, noticing Jack was nearing the finish line, said, “Guess it’s all or nothing,”
Rai, jumping from a branch, blinked. “Wha-” reappearing closer to the water, he blinked again, reappearing at a vine. “Gotcha!” The heat caused Rai’s eyes to open wide, quickly he blinked just before a raging flame could kill him. When he reappeared, his back smacked against the base of the tree, again blinking as a flame burst his way. Smacking his forehead against a branch, he was forced out of the flow of flux, even so, he blinked yet again, but in the wrong direction...
“This guy nuts?!” Jack said, watching Rai blink again and again. Gulping, he looked ahead, continuing on his way to claim second place.
Sheena watching, furrowed her brows. If he keeps this up, he’s going to exhaust himself and put his own life in danger…
“Come on!” Rai shouted. “Why is this so freaking hard!” Phasing through flux force, Rai continued to improvise each deadly encounter he put himself in, even spitting up a small amount of blood from the overusing of the blink technique, however, he was somehow managing to get closer.
“Jack! He’s catching up!” Daichi shouted. Since they were in the same hall, naturally he wanted theirs to win.
“What?!” At that moment, Rai passed Jack. “No way!” Jack, quickening his pace, began to sporadically blink as well, in hopes of passing Rai.
I can’t see a thing… Rai was nearly blind from the exhaustion of blinking – but he was almost there! “Let’s go!” he shouted.
“Come on!” Jack yelled.
Just as they were nearing the finish line, Rai noticed a small hole in the tree beside flickering orange. CRAP?!
Jack seeing Rai, quickly lunged in front of him. “Crimson Barrier,” he shouted, and a wall of crimson formed from his arms. The roaring fire blasted his barrier, but it held strong; however, they both fell as a result.
“Da-mm-m-mm-it!” Rai shouted as he twirled around before getting fully sucked into the whirlpool
Neptus standing up, wiped the remainder of the dung off before Rai appeared – colliding right into him and sending the poop all over them both. “I hate you…”
“Where’s Jack?” Lily wondered out loud.
“Look!” Fu said.
Jack was hanging on against the wall of the finish line. He had used his crimson-bladed arm to pierce into the wall, preventing him from falling into the waters. Bit by bit, Jack utilized both arms to dig into the wall and climb up, finishing officially in second. “That was… Quite the rush…” he said, crossing the finish line.
“Way to go!” Rina said, and Jack gave her a thumbs up.
Afterward, everyone gathered for the class to be dismissed.
“Well done,” Sheena said. “Keep polishing your skills, and you’ll all make excellent Abminus. Your points will be listed accordingly. Rina, for placing first, you do not need to appear in our next class. Jack, being the only other who made it to the end, you can skip as well.
“What about me,” Ayame said, “I got pretty close, and I didn’t fall either.”
“I’ll be seeing the rest of you next month. Class dismissed,” Sheena said, disappearing.
“Guess not…” Ayame said, slouching over.
Lily and the rest appeared with the group of apprentices.
“Thanks for checking out my injuries earlier,” Daichi said to Hanabi.
“Of course,” she replied happily.
“Hey everyone!” Tofi shouted.
“Tofi, I thought you were on the track?” Lily said.
“After the third time, I got bored…” Tofi said. “Is class over?”
“That’s right,” Hanabi said.
“Waterpark!” she shouted, jumping on Tamarri’s back.
“What’d you guys say?” Tamarri said, facing everyone else.
“We’re in!”